Prince Albert author Karry Braaten is advocating for legislation that would require annual sexual abuse prevention and disclosure education to be delivered in schools. “There are severe, severe effects of childhood sexual abuse well into adulthood, and it’s crucial for people to know that so that they get the urgency in doing this work,” she said. Braaten, who goes by the pen name Alice Falling, says childhood sexual abuse trauma led her to suffer severe bouts of mental and physical illness, and she wants to prevent it from happening to others. “My trauma response consisted of drug addiction and mental illness and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and care homes for the mentally ill,” she said. Braaten said she wants to use the intensity of her personal story for sexual abuse prevention activism. The Prince Albert author started a Change.org petition to support passing Erin’s Law, legislation requiring annual abuse prevention education in schools, in Saskatchewan. She has also been in contact with the province about her proposal. Erin’s Law was enacted in Ontario in 2024 with resources from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP) and CCCP Director of Education Elizabeth Hammond told CTV News that education is prevention. “We do know, based on research, that any prevention education does have an impact,” she said. “I think just by boards enacting or provinces enacting legislation, it allows more kids to receive those prevention tools.” The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education said it “is always open to learning about initiatives and approaches being used in other jurisdictions” and looks forward to learning more about Erin’s Law. “Current Saskatchewan curricula and core subject areas, such as health education, enable teachers to provide students with skills to exercise avoidance, caution and/or refusal in potentially dangerous situations,” the ministry said in a statement to CTV News. The ministry also said Saskatchewan schools have a reporting protocol for staff. Age-appropriate education related to personal safety, healthy relationships, and knowing how to seek help is currently addressed through Saskatchewan curriculum and school-based supports,” Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division, responsible for Prince Albert’s public schools, said. The division added that “if changes were made at the provincial level, Saskatchewan Rivers would work with the Ministry of Education and our schools to understand requirements and support implementation in a way that meets the needs of students and families.” Braaten plans to continue her push to have Erin’s Law enacted in her home province. “I’m a survivor, and I know that if Erin’s Law would have been in effect when I was a child, that I would have disclosed.”
